The Hard Tackle lists the five best options to consider to bring into your team heading into FPL Gameweek 17 of the 2025/26 season.
FPL seasons often swing on moments when managers dare to move early on emerging form rather than chase last week’s points. Gameweek 17 feels like one of those crossroads, with several mid‑priced midfielders and attackers as well as a breakout defender stepping into very friendly fixtures, even as some of them arrive on the back of blanks, rotation, or patchy runs.
This is not about squeezing in one more premium; it is about spotting players who sit at the sweet spot of price, role and opponent weakness. There is also a wider pattern this season that helps these picks stand out.
Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley have both been among the Premier League’s most generous back lines, while Nottingham Forest and Manchester United mix flashes of quality with glaring structural issues without the ball. West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, have seen their attacking and defensive numbers wobble enough to create opportunity on the other side of the ball.
Put all of that together and Gameweek 17 offers a cluster of fixtures where progressive and confident players can hurt fragile units. That context matters because many of these names come with small red flags of their own: a recent blank, questions about nailed minutes, or a cold spell in front of goal.
In isolation, those concerns might scare managers off; viewed alongside the fixtures and season‑long data, they instead look like buy‑low moments. The aim here is not to chase one‑week miracles, but to catch players whose underlying role and schedule can deliver value over the next few rounds as well.
This piece looks closely at why Igor Thiago, Nico O’Reilly, Antoine Semenyo, Harry Wilson, Morgan Rogers, and Hugo Ekitike deserve serious attention for Gameweek 17, before zooming out with a quick table of pros and cons and some honourable mentions for those wanting different routes. Each of them brings a mix of form, fixture and FPL‑friendly style that can help managers steal a march while others sit on their hands.
Igor Thiago vs leaky Wolves
Brentford’s Igor Thiago arrives in Gameweek 17 off a Gameweek 16 blank, but focusing on that one return ignores a season in which he has become one of the division’s most dangerous centre‑forwards. The Brazilian has struck 11 league goals in 16 matches for Brentford this season, outperforming an expected‑goals tally of just over 9 and underlining both the volume and quality of chances he gets.
The Brazilian striker’s shot output and attacking threat metrics place him among the upper tier of Premier League forwards, which is impressive value at his price point. That profile is particularly appealing against a Wolves side whose defensive numbers have collapsed. Wolves have already shipped around 35 league goals and are conceding more than two per game by some models, with an xG‑against figure of roughly 1.6 per match turning into an even worse reality.
The Black Country outfit concede across all phases – early in matches, just after half‑time, and late on – which suits Thiago’s ability to wrestle centre‑backs and win duels in the box for 90 minutes. Brentford’s direct, cross‑heavy approach is built to test a defence that struggles to clear its lines and to deal with aerial presence, making Thiago a classic case of trusting long‑term form and fixture over a single quiet outing.
Nico O’Reilly vs blunt West Ham United
Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly is one of those players who seems to improve by the week, and his breakout 2025/26 campaign now has a statistical backbone to match the eye test. Deployed primarily as a left‑back who is comfortable stepping into midfield, he has one goal and three assists in 15 Premier League appearances, with strong underlying numbers in passes per game and key passes.
The youngster’s passing accuracy north of 80% and steady shot volume highlight a player trusted in build‑up but also willing to take responsibility in the final third when City overload wide areas. Against West Ham United, that mix of defensive solidity and attacking upside becomes very attractive as an FPL pick.
The East London club’s attacking output has dipped this season; their goals‑scored and xG figures sit firmly in the lower reaches of the table, with long scoreless spells in several recent matches pointing to a lack of sustained pressure. They rely heavily on moments of individual quality rather than a consistent chance‑creation machine, which usually suits City’s territorial dominance under pressure.
A Manchester City defender who is part of a backline that keeps the ball so well, racks up passes and carries and is capable of returns from set‑pieces or late runs is exactly the type of FPL pick that can quietly deliver a double‑digit haul in a favourable fixture like this.
Antoine Semenyo vs Burnley’s fragility
Antoine Semenyo’s recent dip has pushed him down some watchlists, but zoom out and his 2025/26 Premier League numbers still scream “hold your nerve” ahead of a home date with Burnley. The Bournemouth midfielder has six goals and three assists in 14 Premier League matches this season, with 21 shots on target and a healthy volume of progressive dribbles highlighting how often he drives at defenders and finishes moves.
That shot‑conversion rate around a quarter shows he has been clinical when chances come, even if the last couple of weeks have been quieter on the scoresheet. That has also earned him interest from several high-profile clubs, including Chelsea and Liverpool.
Burnley are exactly the sort of defence a high‑energy wide forward wants to see next. Vincent Kompany’s side have conceded around 28 goals already, giving up close to two per game with underlying metrics that confirm this is no fluke.
They suffer from critical ball losses and a high expected‑threat‑against number, which translates into space in behind and messy defensive transitions, situations where Semenyo’s direct running and willingness to shoot early come to the fore. Given his previous success against Burnley, this feels like an ideal moment to back the process in FPL rather than overreact to a short barren spell.
Harry Wilson vs inconsistent Nottingham Forest
Harry Wilson has quietly become Fulham’s primary attacking spark, and Gameweek 17’s clash with Nottingham Forest arrives with his form trending in exactly the right direction. Across the 2025/26 Premier League season, Wilson has produced 5 goals and 3 assists in 15 matches (and two further assists in FPL), leading the Fulham scoring charts and hitting roughly 0.42 goals per 90 minutes.
He averages around 25 passes and more than one key pass per game, underlining his dual role as both finisher and creator in the right half‑space and on set‑pieces. In his last five Premier League outings, he has caught fire with three goals and three assists, making him one of the division’s form midfielders heading into the festive period.
Nottingham Forest’s season, by contrast, has been defined by volatility. They sit in the lower reaches of the table with a record of five wins, three draws, and eight defeats, scoring under one goal per game while conceding around 1.67 per match. Their xG numbers suggest they should create more than they actually finish, but their xG‑against and goals conceded highlight persistent defensive flaws that better sides have repeatedly exploited.
Fulham’s attack is not elite, but in a fixture where Nottingham Forest’s backline oscillates between solid and chaotic, a confident, set‑piece‑sharing winger like Wilson feels tailor‑made to profit from lapses in concentration and poor defensive positioning.
Morgan Rogers vs porous Manchester United
Few young attackers have embraced a bigger role this season than Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers. The 23‑year‑old has five goals and three assists in 16 Premier League appearances in 2025/26, with all five goals coming away from home and a goals‑per‑90 rate just over 0.3.
His wider Aston Villa numbers – 12 goals and 13 assists in 58 league games for the club – show steady growth from promising depth option to genuine first‑team threat. So, it is no wonder that the English international has emerged as a target for Premier League bigwigs like Chelsea and Liverpool.
Importantly for FPL, the Englishman is playing high up in Villa’s aggressive, possession‑based attack and is not afraid to attack the box from the left, which gives him multiple routes to returns beyond simple tap‑ins. That is particularly relevant against a Manchester United defence that has looked anything but secure this season.
The Red Devils have seen individual errors with a soft underbelly in transition. Their backline struggles to cope when dragged wide or when midfield protection disappears, and they have already suffered heavy defeats that exposed those structural cracks. Aston Villa, under Unai Emery, thrive when opponents leave space between the lines, and Rogers’s movement into those pockets makes him a standout mid‑price midfield pick with genuine haul potential in Gameweek 17.
Hugo Ekitike vs erratic Spurs
Hugo Ekitike has wasted no time justifying Liverpool’s sizeable investment, and his early months at Anfield make him one of the most exciting forward options heading into Gameweek 17. After a prolific spell at Eintracht Frankfurt, where he hit 26 goals in 64 games, the Frenchman joined Liverpool for a fee rising towards £79 million and announced himself with goals in the Community Shield and on the opening two league weekends of 2025/26.
In the Premier League this season he already has seven goals and an assist, with underlying numbers for touches in the box, shots on target and successful dribbles placing him comfortably among the more dynamic forwards in the division. Tottenham’s defensive inconsistency only adds to his appeal.
Spurs have flirted with the top end of the table but remain prone to chaotic matches, conceding early on several occasions and ranking among sides who give up good chances despite periods of dominance.
That combination of high defensive line, aggressive full‑backs and occasional sloppy build‑up invites the exact type of turnovers and space that a quick, intelligent striker like Ekitike thrives on. With Liverpool likely to press high and force errors, backing the in‑form Frenchman in a fixture that could easily become a shoot‑out looks a calculated gamble rather than a punt.
FPL transfer recommendations at a glance
| Player | Club | GW17 Opponent | Main appeal | Risk level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Igor Thiago | Brentford | Wolves (A) | In‑form goal scorer facing one of the league’s most porous, error‑prone defences. | Medium |
| Nico O’Reilly | Man City | West Ham (H) | Breakout defender with assist potential and strong clean‑sheet odds. | Medium |
| Antoine Semenyo | Bournemouth | Burnley (H) | Direct winger with strong season stats against a defence conceding nearly two a game. | Medium‑High |
| Harry Wilson | Fulham | Nottingham Forest (H) | Form midfielder, key set‑piece taker, facing an erratic back line. | Medium |
| Morgan Rogers | Aston Villa | Manchester United (H) | Energetic attacker in a high‑scoring side against a structurally weak defence. | Medium‑High |
| Hugo Ekitike | Liverpool | Tottenham (A) | In‑form striker with strong underlying numbers versus an open, high‑line defence. | Medium‑High |
Honourable mentions
For managers wanting alternatives or looking ahead beyond Gameweek 17, there are several other names worth a mention. Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah and Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi could appeal to those chasing clean sheets and bonus points, especially in matches where their sides are expected to control territory.
In midfield, Manchester United’s Mason Mount and Manchester City midfielders Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden carry their own blend of upside and rotation risk that may reward managers willing to ride out the occasional benching.
Up front, Dominic Calvert‑Lewin and Ollie Watkins remain ever‑green options with proven Premier League scoring records, and both can become priority targets when fixtures align more kindly over the next few gameweeks.
